WASHINGTON, DC - “This is the President’s Hail Mary pass,” U.S. Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) said Tuesday night in reaction to President Bush’s new plan for Iraq.

“Iraqis need to be their own street cops, not U.S. forces,” Senator Smith said. “This is the President’s Hail Mary pass. Now it is up to the Iraqi Army to catch the ball. We are extending an ineffective tactic to further the status quo. Iraqis must be the ones to settle their own peace.”

“One thing remains certain, as long as the Commander in Chief orders our armed forces into harms way, the Congress should extend blue chip financing to our troops. De-funding their bullets is dishonorable and deadly.”